A) It was kind of an on the whim thing. My sister had applied for cycle six and they called her back for cycle seven. She was going to get a chance to go to a more exclusive interview time where there wouldn’t be as many people and she asked if I could come along. I decided to go with it!

Q) What did you learn most about modeling from the show?

A) I learned a lot about modeling! I learned better ways to take pictures and the ins and outs of the industry. I learned to keep my chin up and to make sure you show your neck. Eyes are a big focus point and I learned mostly little things. I learned that you have to be confident.

Q) Do you regret going on the show?

A) No, it was a cool experience. I don’t regret it at all. It was a lot of fun.

Q) Have you come to terms with your sexuality?

A) No, I am still in limbo-land. I am working on it.

Q) Do you feel like you’re a role model for those struggling with their sexuality?

A) I guess I kind of am. I don’t think I should be since I don’t know what I want. I guess in a way I am.

Q) What did you like most about your time in Spain?

A) The country is just really beautiful. I loved the environment and just hanging out with the girls. The architecture was really amazing. That caught my attention a lot.

Q) Did you feel CariDee’s comment was clearly a joke or was it out of line?

A) I thought it was a joke. They kind of blew it up out of proportion afterwards. It, actually, seemed like a joke the whole time and then later on we left and Mr. Jay came to us, making a big deal. We thought it was no big deal and then out of the blue it was a big controversy.

Q) Do you feel your age was a disadvantage to you?

A) I think it was slightly because the older girls had a little bit more experience in life so they knew what they wanted a little more and had more knowledge of the industry. There was also an advantage since younger girls appeal more to the agencies. Being too old is a bad thing.

Q) Who did you feel was your biggest competition?

A) I want to say, personally, my twin because we had to fight against each other for the same look. Overall, I think Melrose was because she knew a lot about the industry and kind of knew the ins and outs. So, I feel she kind of had a leg up. She knew so much about fashion that it kind of put her a step ahead.

Q) Why do you feel you lacked confidence?

A) I think it was due to indecision since I wasn’t sure what I wanted. It’s easier to go for something when it’s been your dream all your life. I was kind of wavering in between so it kind of made me a little less confident because I wasn’t sure what I wanted.

Q) How did you feel having to leave Amanda?

A) I was okay with it. I wished her the best of luck and I hope she does well.

Q) Did you leave a note for anyone when you left?

A) I left everybody notes. I told Amanda that I wished her luck and said she better kick ass. I left CariDee a note saying she had better do her best and just be the persona that she is. There is no use in hiding since it’s gotten her this far. I thanked Melrose and them for dressing me up for dinner that one time because it was fun. I wished her the best and the same with Eugena.

Q) What was your favorite photo shoot?

A) I think my favorite was the stereotype shoot because it was a lot of fun on the set. Everyone was acting out their stereotypes and it was just a lot of fun.

Q) Have you maintained your new look?

A) No, I haven’t maintained the red. I kept the layers, but I haven’t really had the chance to re-dye it. I plan to, but I haven’t really done it yet.

Q) Since you were unsure if you wanted to be a model, what are you going to do now that you are no longer on the show?

A) I’m going to finish out my basketball season that I am in right now and this semester of college. Then, I think I am, actually, going to go for the modeling thing.

Q) Who do you think is going to win the show?

A) I hope my sister wins! If not, then I hope CariDee wins. My sister or CariDee are my picks.

It’s such a waste of time and space when girls get on the show and then realize that they really don’t want the life as a model after all. This is the case with twin model Michelle. A few fans were really looking forward toward having the first twin winners of ANTM. Oh well, maybe in another life time. After being eliminated from the competition, she seems a little relieved that the pressure is off and she can relax in her normal world. Michelle reveals why she lost her confidence, the gay issue and competing with her sister. Read this and much more in our exclusive interview with the fallen twin…

Q: Whose idea was it to enter the competition?A: It was Amanda’s idea. We had been doing some modeling prior to the competition. I’m more into basketball but, I thought it would be fun to meet new people and do new things.

Q: Did you guess that you would get this far?A: I had no idea that we would get this far. I was just hoping for the best.

Q: Why did you start to lose your confidence in the middle of the competition? People are still talking about your brilliant portrayal of someone with an eating disorder photo shoot.A: I did not lose my confidence. I just felt bad for the other girls who left the competition because they wanted it so badly. Modeling was never my dream and was never a life or death situation. I felt bad for Brooke who left the show crying. It was really hard to watch because she wanted this so badly. I felt I should not be there and that another girl should take my place.

Q: Why did you feel you had to reveal that you may be gay?A: Actually we all did interviews with the director of the show. The question was asked of me and I tried to answer it honestly. I was sitting on the bed with the other girls and they asked me what happened when it was my turn to speak with the director. So, I told them what I said. Of course, that’s what they caught on camera. I really did not care if it got out or not. I think it was better that the girls hear it from me than letting it spread around the house like gossip.

Q: Did you find out who Michelle is or are you still searching?A: I’m still searching. I’m young and I have my whole life ahead of me.

Q: Some people feel that you may have sabotaged yourself in order to give Amanda strength to move forward. What are your thoughts?A: I did not consciously go into the elimination ceremony thinking that I want to be eliminated. I felt like being honest when they asked me the question.

Q: What were your best and worst shoots?A: That’s easy… The best were the editorial shoots. I think they’re more interesting. The worst was the wobbling runway. Whoever thought of that was way off.

Q: What type of training did you get throughout the competition?A: We never got any training. Our training was on set. They would show us different ways to extend your neck. I thought we would get a lot of training from Miss. J. It was weird that we did not see much of him.

Q: Why did it take so long for you and Amanda to get to your go sees?A: The editing did not show it but we actually made it to six go sees. There was a guy giving us wrong directions. I wanted to go one way and Amanda wanted to go another. I ended up being right.

Q: What have you learned about yourself through the competition?A: I now know that I have time to know myself. I can live life and have fun while getting to know me.

Q: What are you going to do now?A: I am going to finish out the season with my team playing basketball and then I am going to pursue a career in modeling.

Wow! Good for her. I am glad she knows that the editorial market will be the best place for her. In time, hopefully she will have a better runway walk. Michelle definitely received valuable insight on knowing that she can take her time and live life to the fullest. It’s too bad that the girls who leave the show because their self confidence is not up to par are too late to win the competition. Thank goodness it’s never too late to pursue your dreams.

To learn more about Cycle 7’s Michelle Babin, visit her bio page here.

America’s Next Top Model Eliminee… Michelle

It’s such a waste of time and space when girls get on the show and then realize that they really don’t want the life as a model after all. This is the case with twin model Michelle. A few fans were really looking forward to having the first twin winners of ANTM. Oh well, maybe in another life time. After being eliminated from the competition, she seems a little relieved that the pressure is off and she can relax in her normal world. Michelle reveals why she lost her confidence, the gay issue and competing with her sister. Read this and much more in our exclusive interview with the fallen twin,

QUESTION: Whose idea was it to enter the competition?
MICHELLE: It was Amanda’s idea. We had been doing some modeling prior to the competition. I’m more into basketball but, I thought it would be fun to meet new people and do new things.

QUESTION: Did you guess that you would get this far?
MICHELLE: I had no idea that we would get this far. I was just hoping for the best.

QUESTION: Why did you start to loose your confidence in the middle of the competition? People are still talking about your brilliant portrayal of someone with an eating disorder photo shoot.
MICHELLE: I did not loose my confidence. I just felt bad for the other girls who left the competition because they wanted it so badly. Modeling was never my dream and was never a life or death situation. I felt bad for Brooke who left the show crying. It was really hard to watch because she wanted this so badly. I felt I should not be there and that another girl should take my place.

QUESTION: Why did you feel you had to reveal that you may be gay?
MICHELLE: Actually we all did interviews with the director of the show. The question was asked of me and I tried to answer it honestly. I was sitting on the bed with the other girls and they asked me what happened when it was my turn to speak with the director. So, I told them what I said. Of course, that’s what they caught on camera. I really did not care if it got out or not. I think it was better that the girls hear it from me than letting it spread around the house like gossip.

QUESTION: Did you find out who Michelle is or are you still searching?
MICHELLE: I’m still searching. I’m young and I have my whole life ahead of me.

QUESTION: Some people feel that you may have sabotaged yourself in order to give Amanda strength to move forward. What are your thoughts?
MICHELLE: I did not consciously go into the elimination ceremony thinking that I want to be eliminated. I felt like being honest when they asked me the question.

QUESTION: What were your best and worst shoots?
MICHELLE: That’s easy, The best were the editorial shoots. I think they’re more interesting. The worst was the wobbling runway. Whoever thought of that was way off.

QUESTION: What type of training did you get throughout the competition?
MICHELLE: We never got any training. Our training was on set. They would show us different ways to extend your neck. I thought we would get a lot of training from Ms. Jay. It was weird that we did not see much of him.

QUESTION: Why did it take so long for you and Amanda to get to your go sees?
MICHELLE: The editing did not show it but we actually made it to six go sees. There was a guy giving us wrong directions. I wanted to go one way and Amanda wanted to go another. I ended up being right.

QUESTION: What have you learned about yourself through the competition?
MICHELLE: I now know that I have time to know myself. I can live life and have fun while getting to know me.

QUESTION: What are you going to do now?
MICHELLE: I am going to finish out the season with my team playing basketball and then I am going to pursue a career in modeling.

Wow! Good for her. I am glad she knows that the editorial market will be the best place for her. In time, hopefully she will have a better runway walk. Michelle definitely received valuable insight on knowing that she can take her time and live life to the fullest. It’s too bad that the girls who leave the show because their self confidence is not up to par are too late to win the competition. Thank goodness it’s never too late to pursue your dreams.

To learn more about Cycle 7’s Michelle Babin, visit her bio page here.

“I Always Had Someone There I Trusted” – An Interview with America’s Next Top Model 7’s Michelle

Michelle was sent packing this season on America’s Next Top Model because the judges felt she didn’t have enough passion. Was that the case? Did Michelle want this more than we were shown? Find out right here what she has to say!

As a set, the twins made it all the way to the final five together, but Michelle was sent home over her sister (both were in the bottom two) because she had less desire to win the competition. I had a chance to talk with Michelle about her time on the show, and although I was expecting her to be fun and crazy like she was on the show, it was a pretty tame interview. I almost felt like she didn’t want to talk! Nevertheless, Michelle did answer some important questions for me, so here you go!

RealityNewsOnline: Hey, Michelle! First, let me thank you for taking time out of your day to talk with me today. Did you watch previous seasons of the show and was your main motivation for trying out for the show because your sister was?

Michelle: I saw episode of the show here and there. Mainly just the first and sixth seasons though. My main motivation for applying wasn’t simply because my sister was, but I’ll say that I never would have done so on my own since it never crossed my mind until she was doing it!

RNO: It was made clear to the viewer that you weren’t passionate about modeling, but understood you had a talent. Would you have continued in the competition had your sister not been picked to be in the house?

Michelle: Oh yeah, I definitely continued on. I would have felt bad had Amanda not made it into the house, but there is no way that I wouldn’t have still tried to win the thing.

RNO: Did you find that being part of the “twins” in the house was more of an asset or a liability? Was it ever used against you?

Michelle: I’d say that it was a little of both. It was an asset because I had my sister with me. I always had someone there I trusted. It was a liability because I always had to worry about not only myself, but my sister as well. I do think that the judges used it against us at times, comparing me to her and her to me, but I guess that was to be expected.

RNO: At any point did you think the other girls viewed having twins in the competition as unfair? Did anyone voice these concerns to you?

Michelle: Yes, some of the girls had a problem with it at first, especially during the semi-finals. However, I told them that they were born with their look and I was born with Amanda!

RNO: Do you regret picking Melrose to accompany you during the clothing challenge? Did she at least share a few things that she won? After all, she only won them because of you!

Michelle: Well, I wouldn’t say I regret picking Melrose. She did actually share the clothes with myself, Amanda and CariDee, but that was never shown. The editing so far has been great, and although they are showing Melrose as a big villain, she really is a nice person.

RNO: Did you have a feeling that the judges would put you in the bottom two with your sister and did you think you had a chance of staying over her?

Michelle: I kind of knew that for the past three eliminations, I was beginning to be on thin ice. You start to realize when your time was coming and I knew it would be me. As far as having Amanda next to me, I think once again that it was expected to happen.

RNO: You revealed something very personal about yourself on the show. Do you look back and regret telling the other girls about your confusion over your sexuality on camera?

Michelle: No, I don’t regret that at all. I actually told one of the casting directors about it first, but ended up telling the girls a little bit later. I don’t think anyone was bothered by it at all, aside from what you saw on the show.

RNO: It almost seemed as if you were a bit relieved when you were eliminated from the competition. Was that the case?

Michelle: I wouldn’t say that I was relieved that I was sent home. I was very disappointed about it. I was just happy that Amanda would continue in the competition.

RNO: Did it make it tougher or more frustrating for you when other girls would question your commitment to the competition and how did you handle the stress?

Michelle: Well, I obviously didn’t handle the stress too well since I ended up getting sent home! Na, I tried to show them that I just didn’t care what they thought. It did hurt when people would say to me that I didn’t want to be there, but I knew what I wanted, and couldn’t really listen to them.

RNO: I’m sure it’s a given that you are rooting for your sister to win, who else do you think has a good chance of winning the competition? Is there anyone else you are rooting for?

Michelle: Of course I’m rooting for my sister, but I’m also rooting for CariDee as well. She really does have a great look!

RNO: Why did you tell the judges that you felt CariDee had the most potential of the group over your sister, or even yourself? Is that something that upset Amanda, or that you wish you could have changed?

Michelle: Amanda wasn’t really all that mad. The reason I didn’t say my sister had the most potential was because at that time, my sister wasn’t acting like herself and her photos weren’t as strong as they were before. I felt that CariDee really did have the most potential and was putting forth the most effort.

RNO: I asked Jaeda two weeks ago about Melrose intentionally going out of her way to make the other girls look bad in front of the judges. Do you think it was Melrose’s intention or was she just trying to play up how much she practiced?

Michelle: I don’t think it was Melrose’s intention to make the rest of us look bad, I just think that she was trying to make herself look better, which in the process made it look like we weren’t doing as much as her. That’s up to her how she wants to present herself to the judges, but I don’t think she was going out of her way to make the rest of us look bad.

RNO: So what have you learned from the experience? Do you see yourself trying to get into the modeling industry or is it just not for you?

Michelle: I really do want to pursue modeling, and I plan on doing just that once the show has finished airing. We’ll have to see!

RNO: What are your other plans besides modeling? What else would you like to accomplish?

Michelle: Mainly to just finish school and get an education. That’s important to me.

RNO: Is there anything you would like to add or say to fans of the show? Do you have a MySpace page or any way that fans can get in touch with you?

Michelle: I don’t have a MySpace page yet, mainly because it’s against the rules of the competition and we aren’t allowed to. I’ll probably put one up after the show is finished. I do want to thank my family and friends, and everyone that has been so supportive of me!

RNO: Thanks, Michelle!

To learn more about Cycle 7’s Michelle Babin, visit her bio page here.

February 1, 2013

In November of 2006, IGN interviewed Cycle 7‘s Michelle Babin following her elimination and appearance on the show. Here is the text from the interview (written and posted by Staci Krause):

Exclusive America’s Next Top Model Interview: Michelle

We talk to the latest eliminated contestant, Michelle, whose twin is still in the competition.

The twins have been split up, as Michelle was sent packing by the judging panel on America’s Next Top Model for not having the passion for the competition that her sister did. Even though Michelle put out some of the best pictures the season has to offer and is a natural in many ways, wanting it outweighs being good.

We talked to Michelle about her last words to the panel and how that played into her elimination, how she ended up on the show and what she liked and disliked about the experience.

IGN TV: What made you decide to try out for the show?

Michelle: My sister had tried out for cycle 6 and they gave her a call back asking her to go to the casting for cycle 7 and she asked if I could come along because I decided it would be a fun-ish thing to do and I wanted to try modeling, give it a shot, so they said ‘yeah, for sure’ and I came along with her.

IGN TV: Were you surprised when you made it to the final 13?

Michelle: Yeah, definitely. I wasn’t expecting it.

IGN TV: Do you think your personality was shown off well on the show?

Michelle: Yeah, I think they portrayed me pretty accurately. It is how I act.

IGN TV: How did everything go when you came home after telling them you came out on television?

Michelle: I knew from the beginning that my parents were OK with it. I don’t know why I even cried, I was just kind of nervous I guess. It’s a hard thing to say. But they were fine with it, they were happy to have me home.

IGN TV: Do you wish you could have done anything differently?

Michelle: No. I like the way I handled everything. I mean, I might not have shot myself in the foot at the last elimination and probably continued on a little farther. But it happened and I don’t really regret it.

IGN TV: Did you have a hard time with the nude shoot?

Michelle: The nude shoot was kind of interesting. It was definitely difficult. But I had my sister’s support and her encouraging me and I made her go first too. So they’d already seen one of us, so it’s not that big a deal.

IGN TV: What was your favorite photo shoot?

Michelle: My favorite photo shoot was the stereotypes photo shoot. It was a really fun day. Everybody was acting out their parts. CariDee was acting like a dumb blonde, Megg was acting like she was drunk. It was a lot of fun. And that picture turned out really cool.

IGN TV: Did you bond with anyone?

Michelle: Yeah, I definitely got to know Megan really well. I definitely bonded with her a lot.

IGN TV: What about Melrose?

Michelle: Me and Melrose were really cool. She was kind of a funny character. If I would have a one on one talk with Melrose, it was awesome. She was a really interesting person, totally awesome to talk to. But sometimes when you got her into a group, she would just some odd things which made you think ‘oh Melrose, what are you doing?’ It didn’t seem like it was the same person. It was definitely interesting. She was a cool person. We got along really well.

IGN TV: What was your favorite part of the experience?

Michelle: Either meeting all the girls and all the cast and production because they are all really cool people or traveling to Barcelona was a lot of fun.

IGN TV: Was modeling on the show what you expected?

Michelle: Not exactly. Some of the things I wasn’t expecting because I don’t think they are actually in modeling. Some of the things are kind of exaggerated. I doubt I’ll have to walk on a wobbly runway again, but if I do, I have experience in it now. A little of it was exaggerated. Like the challenge of going up the elevator and trying to put on make-up in one minute was definitely interesting and not what I expected.

IGN TV: What was your least favorite part besides your elimination?

Michelle: Probably walking on the wobbly runway. Oh, something I really hated was every time, in a challenge, they always made us run in heels. Or the fact that we had to do everything in five minutes. ‘Here’s the challenge, you have one minute to do this, go!’ or ‘go put this dress on in five minutes, go!’ I got really tired of running around in heels as a race.

IGN TV: Were you expecting to be eliminated this time?

Michelle: Going into the elimination, I was definitely not expecting to be eliminated. I knew I had turned out probably the best photo, based on Jay’s and Nigel’s critique. I thought I was in the clear because I had a good photo. I kind of knew I was worried about judging, because every time we had a judging panel thing, I always kind of tended to screw up. I’m not very good at on the spot stuff apparently.

IGN TV: Did you sabotage yourself so Amanda would go further?

Michelle: I wouldn’t say that I consciously sabotaged myself, because I didn’t go in there planning on taking a dive for her. That was never my intentions. But maybe subconsciously, when I was asked that question, I might have subconsciously maybe done it to help her along. But I don’t think I purposely did anything. They asked a question and I was honest with it. I wasn’t trying to save her in particular. I didn’t know if she was going home or not. It could have been CariDee. It could have been anybody. But I was just honest with them. I don’t think I consciously sacrificed myself, but maybe in the back of my mind, I was worried about her.

IGN TV: Do you think you can be a great model now?

Michelle: I definitely think in the photo aspect, I could be a really good model. I would definitely have to work on my runway a lot more. But I think I could do pretty good at it.

IGN TV: Who do you think should win?

Michelle: I would definitely want my sister to win the whole thing, but if my sister doesn’t go all the way, I’d definitely want CariDee as the second.

IGN TV: What are you up to now?

Michelle: Right now, I’m just going to school and playing basketball. I plan on finishing out this basketball season and then pursuing modeling.

IGN TV: Any last words?

Michelle: Thanks to all the fans for all the support.

To learn more about Cycle 7’s Michelle Babin, visit her bio page here.

February 1, 2013

Michelle, one of the twins was eliminated last week on Top Model and I interviewed her earlier today. Check out my phone interview with her below as she reveals her future plans, who (besides her sister) she would like to see win it all, and the NBA team she’s currently rooting for…

Michelle: Hey.

Me: Hi Michelle! How are you?

Michelle: I’m good, how are you?

Me: Pretty good. Congratulations on making it to the Top 5!

Michelle: Thanks.

Me: Were you surprised that you lasted so long on the show?

Michelle: Um, yeah, I really didn’t think that I would last that long, but after seeing all of my photos, I wasn’t that surprised.

Me: Well you did take some good photos, but I gotta tell you, I was terrified of interviewing you or your sister Amanda because I could rarely tell you two apart on the show. (Michelle laughs)

Me: So who’s the oldest, you or Amanda?

Michelle: Amanda’s older.

Me: Really? I was figuring you to be the oldest. Tell me, was it harder or easier being on the show with your sister?

Michelle: I think it was easier because I had my sister there for moral support, but at the same time, it was harder because I had my sister to worry about.

Me: Well I was watching some footage of you and your sister and found out that both of you were in college before the competition but you were actually attending separate colleges.

Michelle: Yeah we went to rival colleges. Her college had a better theater program and my school had a better basketball program so we chose our schools based on what we liked.

Me: And you played basketball, were you any good?

Michelle: Um, well, I wasn’t like the star of the team but I enjoy it, I have fun with it.Me: Ok, let’s talk Top Model. Would you say that your experience on the show was a good one?

Michelle: Yeah, I feel like I had a really good experience on the show.

Me: I’m just asking because you seemed to be a little unsure of who you were and what you really wanted to do while you were on the show.

Michelle: Well yeah, I mean, I’m a normal teenager, I didn’t know what I wanted. While I was on the show, I just wasn’t sure if I had the same passion as the other girls, and because of that, I kind of felt bad at times for being there.

Me: You did say that the being on the show helped you to figure out a little bit of who you were as a person, are you more resolved on who you are now?

Michelle: Yeah, I can agree with that.

Me: Ok, let’s get to the elimination, because when it got down to you and your sister being the last two to get a photo from Tyra, I thought that your sister Amanda might be eliminated by the way Tyra kept praising your “natural talent”. Were you surprised when you were eliminated?

Michelle: Um, I expected it from the beginning because I kinda knew that it would end that way… you know, I thought I was gonna go because judging from a couple past episodes, the judges usually keep the one who wants it the most.

Me: The judges made a comment that they thought you might have been “sacrificing yourself” so that your sister could have a better chance at winning the Top Model title. And you even said that you thought you might have been a distraction to your sister and that you didn’t want her to leave because it was her dream. So do you think you sacrificed yourself for your sister to have a better chance?

Michelle: Maybe subconsciously a little bit I might have sacrificed myself because I knew my sister had taken a bad photo in the last challenge and she might have gone home that week. But I didn’t consciously go into eliminations thinking that I’m going to purposely not do well, I actually thought I was in the clear because I had taken a pretty good photo. But the panel challenges got me, I was just never really good at those.

Me: Do you have any regrets in the competition, anything you wish you could go back and do differently?

Michelle: Um, no I don’t regret anything, I probably wouldn’t do anything different, maybe during my final panel challenge, I might have talked a little less!

Me: Are you going to keep the red hair?

Michelle: Right now, it’s not red anymore, because it was a semi-permanent color, so it’s pretty much faded out, but I’ll probably color it back.

Me: Well it looked good on you. So what are your plans now that the show is over?

Michelle: I’m gonna finish out this semester of college and then continue to pursue modeling.

Me: Besides your sister Amanda, who would you like to see win this season of Top Model?

Michelle: Um… Caridee.

Me: Ok, let’s do my fun questions! Since you play basketball and you now have modeling experience, I’m gonna throw out some terms and see how good you are… Ready?

Michelle: Okay.

Me: What’s a “bounce pass”?

Michelle: That’s where you bounce the ball on the court to pass it to another player.

Me: What’s a “jump ball”?

Michelle: At the beginning of the game the officials throw up the ball between two people and whoever tips it to their player, they have possession of the ball.

Me: Wow great! But I have to tell you, I didn’t know some of these terms before I looked them up… (Michelle laughs) Ok, on to the model questions. What’s a “catwalk”?

Michelle: It’s the runway path when you’re walking down the runway.

Me: Alright, how about a “go-see”?

Michelle: The audition that you go on to meet with different modeling agencies.

Me: Do you have a favorite NBA team?

Michelle: The Lakers right now.

Me: How about a favorite fashion model?

Michelle: Gabrielle Reese.

Me: Supermodel, basketball star or both?

Michelle: Both!

Me: Well that’s all I have! Thanks Michelle for taking the time to speak with me, and much success to you in the future!

Michelle: Thank you!

To learn more about Cycle 7’s Michelle Babin, visit her bio page here.

Finishing in fifth place is Michelle, who found herself standing next to her identical twin in the dreaded bottom two in front of last week’s judging panel. Though they may be similar in physical appearance, from the start of the cycle we learned that Michelle was quite different from her sister Amanda when it came to personality – and this difference came through in their photographs. While from the very first photo shoot Michelle garnered the judges’ praise for taking risks, Amanda did not seem hit her stride right away. But ultimately, she surpassed her sister by having that extra edge of seeming to “want it more.” How does Michelle view the forced sibling rivalry? With her characteristic straight-speaking style and no-nonsense attitude, of course.

Hi Michelle, it’s a pleasure to talk to you today!

Hey.

So first off, some general questions for you: how tall are you?

Six foot.

How did you come to be on the show?

My sister tried out for Cycle Six, and she got a message on her Myspace to try out for Cycle Seven, too. They offered her the chance to go to a more exclusive casting. She said she had a twin, and asked if I wanted to come along, and I did.

So were you going along to support her at the time, or did you have modeling ambitions of your own?

No, no, I wanted to try out, I did.

What was your favorite photoshoot?

My favorite photo shoot was “Model Stereotypes”. That day was just a lot of fun. Everybody was acting out their stereotypes, and it was our first photo shoot…kind of an ice breaker. It was a lot of fun, everybody was really fun on that shoot. Everybody was there at that point so it was like a big ole’ family.

What was your stereotype?

I was the bulimic. I really liked the scenario I got, it was interesting and controversial; so it was a lot of fun to play.

Now, I normally ask the contestants who they were close to in the house, but I think we can guess your answer.

Really? Who would you guess?

I would say Amanda.

Yup. I was also close to Megan.

Overall, do you think it was an advantage or disadvantage to have your twin sister in the same competition?

I think it was a little bit of both. It was an advantage because it made us stand out. You’re just looking at a screen of thirteen girls, and you see two twins, you can’t help but think, “Oh my gosh, look at them.” It kind of makes us pop out at first. But then we had to compete against each other, so I had to stand out even more from her.

What about the social aspect of having someone in the house that you already know?

Yeah, it made it a lot easier to be there to have somebody to support you. For the other girls, they were in there alone, and didn’t have anyone they could truly trust. She’s my sister, so I could trust her with anything. But there is also a downside to that because I also had to worry about somebody besides myself.

The two of you have previous modeling experience, correct? And were even signed to a modeling agency?

Yeah, we didn’t do a lot of modeling, though. It was kind of like – we just weren’t into it. It was more like it was something that just happened. But yeah, we had a little bit of modeling experience.

I guess it begs the question – do you want to model? Because on the show, it seemed like you were supporting your sister, but it wasn’t your dream – it was hers.

It wasn’t my dream, because my dream was actually to be in the WBNA. That was my dream since I was little. But it’s something that I actually did want to do. Before, when we were in modeling I didn’t want to do it and I was there for [Amanda], but this – I actually decided that I wanted to give it a genuine shot, and that I wanted to model. I was really trying.

But given the chance, you’d take basketball over modeling?

Not as much anymore. I’m pretty much almost done with basketball, and modeling is something that is newer that I want to pick up.

Can you give us your insight into the other women in the house? I’d like to read off their names and you could give me a few words or a sentence about them.

Sure.

What did you think of A.J.?

Very cool, down-to-earth, but got in some bad moods sometimes. A little moody, but a very cool person.

What can you tell us about Amanda?

Well, she’s my sister. And on the show, she’s just a really nice sweet person. On the show she seemed like she was in her shell a little bit at the beginning, she wasn’t being herself. So she struggled with the photos because she was second-guessing herself. I think she was afraid about being on national television as far as how people would view her. But towards the end, she came out of her shell and started being herself, so that was cool.

And Brooke?

Brooke was a really sweet girl. Brooke can’t be evil. She is the nicest, bubbliest girl ever. She’s a sweetheart.

How about Caridee?

Caridee is a really cool person. She’s very genuine, and she’s really funny. She has a really outgoing and fun personality.

How would you describe Eugena?

Eugena’s definitely a character. She’s just herself and she doesn’t let anybody change her. There were a couple of times where Eugena and I got into pointless debates, and they were really fun, and we would totally be on opposite sides, but at the end of the day we wouldn’t be mad at each other. She has her own opinions and everything, and I really respect her. She’s really cool.

That’s funny because I feel like I didn’t get to know her of all the girls on the show. That part of her personality didn’t really come out on the show to me.

I think she was just really focused on the competition. She wasn’t trying to be buddy-buddy with anybody. She didn’t end up making friends, but that wasn’t her main goal. Her goal was to win. It didn’t seem like in the beginning that she cared to get to know anybody.

What about Jaeda?

Jaeda was hilarious, that’s how I would describe Jaeda. She wasn’t very good at the improvisation or the challenges where we were supposed to be funny; but if you sat down and just had a conversation with Jaeda, she was hilarious. She’s very good at impersonations. I told her several times that she should be a comedian. (laughs)

What would you say about Megg?

Megg is a rockstar. There’s no other way to describe Megg. I know you think the way she was always saying “rock on” was just an act – that’s actually the way her personality really is. She’s really cool, she’s a rockstar.

What’s your take on Melrose?

Melrose was interesting. Melrose was a very chill, down-to-earth person most of the time; like if you were just having a one-to-one conversation with her, she’s really cool and fun to talk to. But there were times when Melrose would just – she would just be, not dumb, but she would be doing things that were just like, (in a tone of amused annoyance) “Oh Melrose, what are you doing?”

Did Melrose give you any of the clothes back from your challenge win?

Yeah, actually she ended up giving everybody the main things they wanted. She split it up pretty evenly. She took a good amount of the clothes for herself – not most of them, but a fair amount – and she made sure everyone had the key things that they really liked. So that was really cool. It was spread out pretty fairly. I was happy about how that came out.

How about Anchal?

Anchal was cool. She’s a very down-to-earth sweet person. Sometimes she was pretty intolerant, though. She didn’t seem to like Melrose, and you could just tell. (laughs)

And Monique?

I don’t even know if I know Monique. On the show she seemed very sweet at the beginning, she was sweet during casting, then all of a sudden when the show started her personality had a change of heart and she went all crazy on us. A lot of times when she was doing what she was doing, I was saying, “Are you serious? Are you really doing this? I’m so lost.” And once she was kicked off the show she announced it was an act, it was all so that she could stand out. So maybe it was, I don’t know. I don’t know if it was an act or not, but it was definitely interesting.

Lastly, how would you describe Christian?

Christian was really cool. Unfortunately, I didn’t really get to know her that well. During casting we didn’t get to talk that much. She seemed like a really cool, down-to-earth, chill person. I would have liked to get to know her better.

Did Amanda tell you whether or not she won?

I cannot say.

You can’t even say if she told you?

Nope.

Okay. So, do you think it was set-up that you and Amanda both ended up in the bottom two standing next to each other?

Oh, I knew it was done for the drama. I knew from the very first day that we both made it to the top thirteen that when we left, we would be next to each other. It was inevitable. We knew it from the beginning; in fact, we would joke about it with each other. “You’re going to be standing next to me.” We knew. (laughs)

Were you happy that she was the one left standing and not you? How do you feel about that?

I’m indifferent. It would have been fun to stay, but I’m glad she’s getting the chance to continue on. It’s fine, it’s cool.

According to Tyra, you really showed a natural ability to take great pictures. Do you think that your ambivalence of being on the show gave you more freedom to perform in front of the camera?

I think I was just natural with it. I mean, I didn’t care how America was going to perceive me, and I was just going to do it. I wasn’t really stressed out about the fact that, “Oh, this picture could send me home!” I was like, “Let’s just take the picture and have fun.”

What America thought of you wasn’t on your mind?

Well no, it was in the back of my head, of course. I was thinking, “Gosh, if I do something stupid it’s going to be on national television.” But I figured I was going to do what I was going to do, so I was going to have fun with it.

Did you expect your sexuality to become a part of the show?

No, not really. That was kind of random. It was brought up in an interview and I just answered honestly because I didn’t care to lie. It didn’t seem like a big deal to me. It was – whatever.

As far as coming out publicly like that on national television, did it affect you in the competition in any way?

Not really. It didn’t bug me that much. Everyone was saying, “Oh my God this is such a big deal,” and I was like, “I just don’t care.” It’s just — whatever, it’s just a part of me, so it doesn’t matter. The only part of me that was affected in the competition over it was because of my sister. She was a little upset by it because she thought I got forced into saying it. But I didn’t, I just said it.

It’s nice to know she’s looking out for you.

Yeah.

Can you tell me about your plans for the future?

I plan to finish this basketball season that I’m playing in right now, and pursue modeling.

Is there anything else you’d like the fans to know?

Just that I had a fun time, and thanks for all the support.

To learn more about Cycle 7’s Michelle Babin, visit her bio page here.